w.i.w.t | sense + sennheiser

the struggle for good headphones is real. the ones that come with the phone - albeit portable, are pretty crap quality, get into a tangled mess in the bottom of your bag, and never, ever stay the colour they're meant to for long. they get pulled out of your ear by passer-byers, the buds inevitably fall apart, and you're always left wondering where your next pair will come from.

late last year i invested in a good pair of headphones. they were pretty, clean, over-the-ear jobbies, and they were ~going to be the best piece of audio tech that i ever owned. well. while they ~were pretty, and they were incredibly light to carry, they were in no way portable, not very good quality, or noise cancelling *at all*, meaning that every man and his dog heard my incredibly loud taste in commuter music, or i heard every ridiculous conversation on the tube ever had, every damn day.

before long, they were retired and replaced with another cheap pair of buds that could be thrown in my handbag with ease, never to offend another commuter's delicate ears again; we all know they never, ever go loud enough for anyone else to hear. so when i was offered a pair of the sennheiser momentum headphones from john lewis to try out on my commute, i was dubious.

not least of all because they're chocolate brown, and if there's ever been a colour that's less me than brown, i've yet to meet it, but also because i did wonder how - other than the incomparable price difference (these bad boys retail for £169.95), these would be any different from the last pair i had, last seen lying - discarded - in a pile of chocolate (oh ha ha, very good) wrappers on my chest of drawers. to the internet i went, keen to learn what i was potentially missing out on.

for starters, they fold away. each of the ear speakers folds in on themselves for easy packing and handbag storage. they even come in a posh little cloth bag, which i totally did not take a photo off, but you can certainly believe me about, and, the spec on the website also advised me on what i had hoped these headphones would afford me: total noise cancellation. no such luck sadly, but they come pretty close! i'm less worried about me hearing outside noises, and more worried about others hearing my amazing commuter music.

so i opened the box briefly at work, plugged them in and said to chloe "tell me when you can hear something", then sat there slowly turning the music up going "now? now? what about now?" and 99% of the time, she said no. only when i had the music on its loudest setting (don't, you will go deaf) could she hear the music.

the other instantly-noticeable difference between these and my others is that they are so much more comfortable around the ears. the speakers are doubly-padded with a soft foam, and then covered in a soft fabric, making them totally ear-friendly - when the music's not turned up too loud, that is. and when it is, the quality is beyond exceptional. after using the standard kit for so long, it's ridiculous what music can actual sound like on the go. perfect surround sound at my fingertips? amazing stuff.

and you know what i decided about the chocolate brown fabric? it's actually not too bad. it's almost the same colour as my hair, so the headphones like, totally blend in to my person, which is hilarious. the brown also gave me an excuse to use my new tote bag and pull an old favourite out of the wardrobe - an outfit that garnered me enough compliments on sunday for me to know i did the right thing by wearing it. even if i had to pair my ridiculous rain coat with it because this stupid cast won't fit in any other jackets, and it was chucking it down all day on sunday. sensible me is sensible!

so all in all. the sennheiser momentum's are definitely a welcomed addition to my music kit, and i am looking forward to testing them on the general public this week. what do you use?